The tumbling economy and higher cost of travel are causing physicians to rethink their plans to attend out-of-town meetings, according to Medical Meetings Physicians' CME Preferences Survey.

About half of respondents, who were surveyed in September, said that they plan to attend fewer meetings requiring overnight travel during the coming year. Thirty-eight percent said they plan to attend more local meetings, while 50 percent said they plan to earn more of their continuing medical education credits via methods not requiring travel. However, 33 percent said they had no plans to change their travel patterns.

Economic pressures may have affected doctors' travel during the 12 months prior to the survey, as well. Respondents earned 34 percent of their credits at out-of-town meetings, which is a dip from last year's survey result of 41 percent, but is still the most popular method for racking up credits. Local meetings came in second, with respondents earning 22 percent of their credits through those events, up from 19 percent in last year's survey.

For more results, watch for the January/February issue.